The 1st Division Promotion starts this weekend. 4 of the 16 teams are ASL II teams. I am not going to do a week by week report, but I will post things that seem interesting. I would expect FC Basel II, YF Juventus, AC Bellinzona, and Old Boys to contend.
As expected the top teams played well today. FC Basel II - SC Bruhl 3-1 FCZ II - YF Juventus 1-1 FC Sion II - FC Koniz 0-0 Remeber Koinz has a very experienced squad. Old Boys - Breitenrain 2-1 Delemont - Bellinzona 3-3 Kriens - Le Mont 1-1 Tuggen - Etoile Carouge 6-4 4 Aug FCSG II - Stade Nyonnais
After four matches the newest incarnation of Xamax is 4-0 with 12 points in the 1st Division Classic Group 2. They have a 4 point advantage over the next closest team. Too early to talk about promotion, but they are doing well. In the 1st Division Promotion, after 5 matches, no team has been able to really seperate themselves. The top teams (x2) have 10 points, and the last place teams(x2) have 3. No one has really taken the league over yet. In the 1st Division Classic (Group 3) we have Eschen/Mauren who have opened up a 3 point lead. Still early but that would give a 2nd team from Principality in the higher Swiss leagues.
AC Bellinzoina will go into liquidation tomorrow. There will only be 15 teams left if the Premier League Promotion. Not sure how this will affect the schedule. I would assume that they will simply remove points earned against ACB and take them off the future schedule.
1st Division Promotion is a mess. 10 of the 15 teams have 10 through 13 points. The following 5 teams have either 7 or 6. Each week it seems that teams that should win loose, and those who should loose, win. One team who could get hot could really distance themselves from the others. In 1st Division Classic, tiny FC Bavois is currently tied for first in their group. Xamax has 16 points from 7 matches to lead their group. Eschen/Mauren is also leading their group with 16 points.
Also with the expulsion of ACB from the 1st Division Promotion, some things have changed. Instead of 2 teams being relegated at the end of the 2013 season, only 1 will be as ACB takes one of those places. The top two from the 1st Division Classic will be promoted, thus making the 1st Division Promotion. The 1st Division Classic will see 5 teams relegated and the 1st and 2nd place teams from each 2nd Division Interregional group will be promoted.
1st Division Classic is seeing a familiar face lead group 2. Xamax is ahead by 6 points over the closest opponent. There is a 4 way tie in Group 1 between YBII, Fribourg, Dudingen, and Naters. Group 3 sees Eschen/Mauren leading the way with Rapperswil-Jona in second place one point behind. 1st Divison Promotion is seeing Le Mont (LS) lead by 8 points over FC Sion II, and Tuggen.
1st. division promotion is 3rd. division and 1st. division classic were xamax plays is 4th. division?
ASL- 1st Division BCL - 2nd Division 1st Division Promotion - 3rd Division 1st Division Classic - 4th Division - Home of Xamax 2nd League Interregional - 5th Division 2nd League - 6th Division I will not go down any farther. You are correct in your statement.
Its still awfully long down the ladder, it seems it still takes some years before we will see that beautifull stadium in the National A.
It will be at least 3.5 more years. It would have taken even longer, but Neuchatel Xamax joined with a club in early Spring of this year. That fusion brought they up a division. So instead of playing this season in the 2nd League Interregional, they are one higher. On a side note, last year I went to an FC Biel-Bienne match in that stadium. Nice, but you had really like the color red.
At the winter break, here is where we sit in the lower leagues. 1st Division - Promotion Le Mont is 6 points up on YF Juventus with a game in hand. They are 8 points up on Fc Koinz and 9 on FC Tuggen. Promotion is theirs if they do not slip up. They could end up 9,11, and 12 points up respectively. On the flip side, it looks like BCS Old Boys at 11 points with a game in hand or FCSG II with 8 points will be the one relegated. 1st Division Classic: 1st Group Some familiar faces from each corner of the group lead the way. YB II - 27 Naters - 27 Dudungen - 27 Meyrin -26 Naters and YB II both have a game in hand. 2nd Group Here we see Xamax running away with the league: Xamax 36 Black Stars 26 3rd Group Eschen/Mauren 29 (Can the Liechtensteiners do it?) Rapperswil 28
For the 2014/2015 season, the Premier League - Promotion will become the Promotion League. Premier League - Classic will drop to simple Premier League.
Wondering if anyone can shed some light on what happened to AC Bellinzona? Did they reform somewhere like Xamax did or are they now completely extinct?
After a bunch of digging it looks like they still have a youth set-up, but their men's side is still "in play" at the bottom of the 1st Division Promotion. I do not know what will happen next year. If they need to start back in the 5th league, that is a long climb back up.
Must be incredibly hard on the clubs' supporters! The owners though have to held accountable. It looks like Xamax is now on a solid footing and headed in the right direction. Hopefully the future will be bright for Bellinzona.